Permanent Vacation
by Silent-Echo117
Summary: Best friends Fitz and Valeriya find themselves taking a celebratory trip to the famous Ikebukuro, Japan. while there, they get caught up in the drama that comes with the infamous informant and Bukuros strongest man. things get out of hand and somehow, these friends must reconcile, while learning to accept each others choices, Shizuo x OC, Izaya x OC
1. was that a trash can?

**AN: hi there, and welcome to Permanent Vacation! I would like to say first that I sadly do not own Durarara!, or anything related to it, I do however own Valeriya Wilson, who is my oc, and Fitz belongs to my best friend and beta reader, without whom, this story would be nothing. I apologize in advance if the story is too long, and if any of the characters are ooc, I tried to stick to each of them strictly, but sometimes it's not easy! I also apologize if it seems like Shizuo and Izaya aren't in it a lot, they may not come in until late in this chapter, but I promise, there is so much more of them to come! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter! Thanks for taking a look and remember to leave me a review! **

**Thanks, and thanks again!**

**-Miss Echo**

Two figures made their way down a crowded Ikebukuro street. Two best friends, Valeriya Wilson and Fitz Deveraux were on the third day of their vacation in Japan. So far it had been a pretty boring one. It had been one of Valeriyas ideas to come to Japan after they finished their finals for Cambridge. Just one last hooraw for them, before their adult lives started. She'd also suggested it to help Fitz get over a bad break up he was still down over. Even though he didn't want to admit it Valeriya could tell just how down he was about it. Every time she'd glance over to him without him spotting her he was either looking at the ground or off in the distance blankly. It wasn't easy to see her best friend so down, Valeriya knew she needed to do something.

"Come on Fitz, I need a drink." She said, and grabbed his hand, dragging him into a bar just around the corner. Valeriya sat down at a table, Fitz sitting across from her crossing his arms and looking a little sour.

Before Valeriya could ask what was wrong a waiter appeared at their table, notepad in hand.

"Hello, I'm Toshi, what can I get you two tonight?" The young man asked with a smile.

"Um, I think I'll have a bloody Mary please." Valeriya said returning the smile. "What about you Fitz?" She asked, setting down the menu the waiter had handed her.

"You know I don't like drinking Valeriya." Fitz said, in an annoyed tone. He paused looking at the table. "Just bring me a Sprite please." He said finally.

"Alright, I'll just need to see your Ids please." The waiter said holding his hand out.

"Right, Right!" Valeriya said cheerfully reached into her Gucci purse for the leather Prada wallet. Fitz pulled his own wallet out of his back pocket without a word.

They both handed their Ids to the waiter who took them and examined them for a moment. He eyed Fitz.

"You're twenty three?" He asked clearly not believing Fitz's card. Fitz did look young. Younger than Valeriya, the irony being that he was actually older than her.

"Yes. I was born in 1988. I even have my passport if you want to look at that too." Fitz said sounding even more annoyed than when he spoke to Valeriya.

"No that won't be necessary." The waiter said taken aback by the venom in Fitz's tone. Valeriya couldn't help but laugh as the waiter handed their cards back. Fitz didn't really get mad often, so it was funny to see when he did, well when it wasn't aimed at her anyway.

Valeriya took a moment to look at her Id before putting it back in her wallet, and her wallet back in her purse.

"Oh come on Fitz, we took this trip to have fun, live a little, have some wine or something!" She said, her Italian accent swaying the words with delight.

"I don't drink Valeriya, but I'm aware that this trip is for fun. I've been having fun, but I don't like bars. Even when I'm not in a foul mood." He said his own accent making it sound much more sophisticated. In counter point to Valeriya's cheeky sounding accent Fitz had a mild Scottish accent, blended with an English accent. They'd met through some friends who had betrayed them both in younger years. Fitz was born in Scotland and had lived part of his life there, and the rest in England with his father, hence the blending. It worked to his advantage, even on the rare cases when he didn't know what he was talking about, with his accent he sounded like he did. Valeriya had been born and raised in Italy and had the passionate accent of a pure breed Italian. Their Friendship had been hard for awhile, all they could do was Skype with each other. When college rolled around, they both sent their transcripts into the famous Cambridge University. Of course both of them had grades in the top percentile of their class, so they got in with little trouble. She studying Psychology, and he Philosophy. They shared a small two bedroom apartment as roommates.

Valeriya leaned forward, setting her right elbow on the table, and resting her hand in her palm.

Sighing, She asked him the question She'd been trying to ask all day.

"Fitz, are you still down about Ben?" Ben was Fitz's ex boyfriend. At first, the young Englishman seemed charming, and sweet, but as time went on, it had turned out that he was cheating on Fitz with a girl his father had picked out for him. This had broken Fitz's heart. He thought that it was a serious relationship, but it had crumbled so quickly. Valeriya herself had just ended a relationship as well. The man she'd been seeing was just too much of a player. Valeriya hated 'Players'. She just wasn't the type that usually mourned for days on end about her breakups, she just tended to move on with her life, but Fitz couldn't seem to move on very well. On the other side of the planet Fitz was still thinking about that two faced ass.

"Yes, I just can't seem to push the simple thoughts and memories from my mind, I don't understand why I can't just forget about him." Fitz said, sadness creeping into his voice as he looked to the table.

Valeriya sighed, looking at him sadly. She knew that even though Fitz didn't often show it, when he cared about someone he cared deeply, and for Ben to have just trampled that, it broke her heart just as much as it had broken his.

"Fitz, you know why you can't just forget, you thought you loved him, and hell, you probably truly do, but he doesn't deserve you. What did you tell me? I quote 'he is just a player, and you are too good to be his play thing'. I think that goes for you too mister. He was a player, maybe not as big as my Ex, but still he was playing the field when he had a star player." Valeriya said trying to make Fitz smile using a horrible metaphor.

"But I need to get rid of this absurd feeling of love, and leave it be. Forget about him, maybe just erase him completely." Fitz said looking up, not responding to the bad joke.

Valeriya relaxed back into the booth, and reclined crossing her arms. "Fitz, we're human, we can't just get rid of our love for someone, or just erase them, it will always be there, and now, it hurts, it's an open wound, and you don't want to touch it, but you'll find someone so much better for you, and the scar from that wound will close and you'll forget all about what's his name. Besides you know I'll be here for you the whole way." Valeriya said giving him a sincere smile. "I'm Italian; if there's one thing we know how to talk about, its love."

"I guess you're right, all this will take is time. I think I'll stay single for a while, to regain my composure and strength, and unwind, let my mind settle." He said quietly.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Valeriya's smile broadened. The young man who had taken their orders returned once again, and set a red drink in front of Valeriya, and a clear soda in front of Fitz.

"If that's everything was this going to be together or separate." He asked holding a slip, clearly the check.

"Separ-" Fitz began but was cut off by Valeriya.

"Together." She said pulling her wallet out once more and paying him, keeping the slip as a receipt. Placing the wallet and its contents back into her purse, She plucked the celery stick from the glass and ate it, smiling at Fitz. "The least I can do for dragging you here is pay for your soda."

"Yeah it is." Fitz said. Even if it sounded cold Valeriya could tell he was joking with her as he often did.

"So, what fun things should we do tomorrow, we've got another week and a half here in Japan, and so many things to do!" She said, happy to see him cheered up even a little.

Fitz just shrugged however. "Whatever you want is fine." He said pulling a book out of his bag and beginning to read. Valeriya tilted her head to read the title on the spine. Fitz sometimes read the weirdest things. This time some book by some guy called Howard Zinn.

"A People's History of American Empire? You aren't even from America." Valeriya said slightly confused. Though Fitz didn't answer he just shrugged, and kept reading. Valeriya gave up and just started looking around the bar.

They sat in silence for another few minutes, and within that time, Valeriya's drink had vanished. taking another sip on the straw, and feeling nothing meet her lips, She stared longingly into the large glass, finding nothing. Out of drink, and energy, she set the glass back in its spot on the wooden table, and looked out the window. It seemed so quiet, people on their daily routines home, after a long day at work, others going for walks, just generally getting exercise. There were groups of kids, taking and laughing on their way. Then, through the calm came flying a convenience store trash can, which collided with a tall man in a black coat who was talking to three younger kids.

Fitz! Oh my god! I just saw a flying trash can hit a guy, Come on lets go check it out!" Valeriya exclaimed jumping to her feet. She was always interested in some action. She took off running leaving Fitz inside.

Valeriya stood, marveling at the sight, she couldn't comprehend what had just happened. with her mind still in a daze, Her eyes darted down the street a ways and spotted a tall, blonde man in a bartender outfit slowly walking up to the man who had just risen to his feet. The bartender strolled casually toward his opponent, his hands in his pockets, and a grin on his face.

"Well well, what's up, Izaya?" The bartender asked, his deep voice captivating, it was almost sensual. He slowly removed his blue tinted sunglasses from his face, and put them carefully in his pocket. The man had an air of mystery that intrigued Valeriya. Val turned to ask Fitz something, he had just walked up through the crowd.

"What do you think is going on?" She asked in a hushed tone. The crowd that gathered was all but silent. Fitz just shrugged looking between the two men, skipping over the kids in uniform in the middle. The man in the black coat had a certain wickedness to him that gnawed at Fitz's stomach. Just looking at him he felt the man was up to no good.

"I thought I told you never to step foot in Ikebukero again. You remember that, don't you? Izaya?" The bartender asked, smugly.

"Shizu-chan, last I heard, you had some gig, working down by the west gate." this Izaya said, a haughty tone in his voice. His black hair shined in the sun.

His voice set both Valeriya and Fitz on edge. And it just confirmed the feeling of instant mistrust Fitz had.

"Got fired ages ago! And I'm pretty sure I told you never to call me that, my name's Shizuo Heiwajima, try to get it right!" the bartender yelled. Shizuo Heiwajima. Fitz and Valeriya looked at each other briefly, a thought shared between them with no words. They'd heard about some guy named Shizuo Heiwajima. Apparently he threw things. Though what they'd heard he could throw was most likely just stories. No one could pull street signs out of the concrete.

"Oh come on Shizu-chan, so I pinned you for something you didn't do, no need to get so mad." Izaya offered.

"Oh I'm not mad, I just wanna beat the shit out of you." Shizuo responded angrily.

"You know the problem with you Shizu-chan, is that you can't be swayed by reason, and that's bad. really bad." Izaya suddenly pulled a knife out of nowhere, and pointed it at Shizuo, Fitz worried that this might get more violent than they wanted to be involved in "now let me go." Izaya said coyly.

Fitz pulled on Valeriya's arm, "Come on lets get out of here."

Before Valeriya could even give a reason as to why she'd want to stay and see what was going to happen, a gang rounded a nearby corner, and the leader shouted, "There, There's the guy! Nobody makes fun of the Dollars!"

Valeriya had come to the conclusion that the 'Dollars' was the name of their gang. Each man was holding a different weapon; they ranged from a wooden club, to a metal pipe.

"What's with the bartender?" one asked to another, seemingly confused.

"I don't know, he wasn't there earlier." the leader replied.

"Is that...Shizuo Heiwajima?" another asked nervously.

Shizuo turned to face him, letting out a disgusted grunt. "What the hell do you want?" he asked impatiently.

Before anyone could register what was about to happen, a gang member in a red shirt, and blue ball cap screamed, then ran at Shizuo, hitting him over the head with a long wooden rod. Valeriya and Fitz heard the collision of his head with the rod, and the shattering of the wood, even from where they stood. After the fact, everyone stood still, completely silent, staring at Shizuo, hunched over, hands on his head. Blood was visible running down his face, as he let out a long, angry growl. He stood straight, regaining his composure.

"You aimed for my head, and you have to know a blow like that could kill a guy right? That means you were intentionally trying to kill me right? So that means, whatever happens next, is what you deserve right?!" and before anyone knew it, Shizuo's hand Collided with the mans face, sending him sailing down the road, landing with a thud on the concrete. It was at this moment, the rest of the gang decided to join the fight.

Fitz and Valeriya, along with the rest of the bystanders didn't move, mostly from fear of being thought of as part of the gang, and getting hit.

Shizuo took them down individually, each with such ease. Some grew frightened, and began to run away. Those were the smart ones. For some reason, she was routing for Shizuo at this point.

"Well Shizu-chan, it looks like you've got your hands full, so I'll swing by later." Izaya stated, and began to move away.

"Where the hell do you think you're going flea?" Shizuo asked angrily. Then the war really began. The whole crowd was amazed at the show. Shizuo ripped things right out of the ground, and hurled them at Izaya, who dodged them with ease, in acrobatic motions.

Valeriya was stunned by this. What they'd heard was true? How? Valeriya was so stunned she didn't even see the traffic sign coming straight at her until it was too late. All she could do was brace for the impact, her eyes clenched shut. But there was no impact. Fitz yelled for Valeriya to move and then pushed her out of the way. Valeriya lay stunned blinking from the fall to the ground. Valeriya lay helpless for a moment before someone in the crowd helped her up. "Thanks Fitz." But the person that helped her wasn't Fitz. She looked around for her best friend only to see a sickening image. Fitz's frail body crumpled on the ground where she'd been a moment ago. His legs trapped under a pole that once held a road sign up. And a trickle of blood on the sidewalk from his head.

'"Oh god, Fitz, no!" Valeriya shouted, as she scrambled over to him.

"Well Shizu-chan, it's been fun, see ya" and Izaya disappeared into the evening. Shizuo cursed under his breath. Valeriya looked up just in time to catch eyes with him as she checked Fitz's pulse

**AN: well, there's the first chapter! Poor Fitz! We'll find out what happens to him in the next chapter, which is coming right up! I hope you'll stick around to read it with us! Thanks for stopping by for the first chapter, and I hope to see you in the next one, and all the ones following it, hope you enjoyed! **

**-miss echo **


	2. accents and air

**AN: welcome to chapter 2 of Permanent Vacations! In this chapter we finally get to see more of Shizuo and Izaya, we get some background info on our two main characters, and we find out what happens to Fitz! I don't own Durarara! Or any of its characters. Thanks for taking a look, hope you enjoy! Thanks, and thanks again!**

**-Miss Echo **

"Thank god, he's still alive," Valeriya muttered to herself. He was just knocked out. Valeriya wiped the blood from his face. She slowly made her way down to his ankle. Her own ankle was hurt slightly too, twisted thanks to her shoe choice, but given that Fitz's looked to have had a large chunk of metal land on it, she was more worried about his than her's. "It'll be okay, I'm gonna help you, don't worry..." Valeriya cried, the tears began to blur her vision, and desperately she tried to lift the pipe, with no luck, it was too heavy for her.

"Here." Shizuo said, picking up the pipe with ease. "I'm sorry, let me guess, brother? No. boyfriend?" he asked.

"No, best friend." Valeriya answered shakily. Shizuo had a certain look in his eyes, he looked sorry somehow, but at the same time not. He stood up again, and offered his hand to Valeriya, helping her up. When she was up, he bent down, and scooped Fit up bridal style, like he was a doll.

"W-what are you doing?" Valeriya asked worriedly, following him as he began to walk away, Fitz still in his arms.

"I have a doctor friend that can help him." He said pausing to look down to the Italian woman. "I just wanted to kill that scum, not hurt your friend." He said looking apologetic. He cleared his throat and his face chanced back to his scowl. "You probably already heard, but I'll say it anyway, I'm Shizuo Heiwajima, care to tell me your name, and your friends too?" he asked her beginning to walk.

"Well, this is my friend Fitz Deveraux, and I'm Valeriya Wilson."

"You're not from around here." He said, it was more of a statement than a question.

"No, I'm from Italia, and Fitz is from Scotland...how did you-"

"Your accent. Your voice sounds very different." He said, then after a pause added, "It's not bad."

"oh...I, um, thank you." Valeriya wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not, but she took at as one. She got them so rarely now a day. Her cell began to ring, and she fell behind Shizuo to take the call. The number looked weird. It was a number from Japan though, maybe the shitty little hotel she and Fitz were staying at. "Hello?"

"Well, I don't believe we've met, I do hope too much damage wasn't caused to your friend." The voice was unfamiliar, and from what he said definitely not someone from the hotel.

"Who is this?" She asked. Valeriya could feel someone walking right behind her so she turned on her heel, to see the man that had started all this.

"I just came to check on your friend, and see if Shizu-chan had killed him or not. It would have been a shame, a very handsome guy, killed to save the life of his best friend." Izaya sported a smirk that pissed her off completely.

"How do you know my number?" Valeriya asked him stunned and disgusted at the same time

.

"I have my ways. A few calls. I can even tell you the room number you guys are sharing." He said smiling smugly. "Give me ten minutes and I can know your home address and your parents names, Same thing for Fitzgerald." He said Fitz's full name in a smarmy tone that set Valeriya's teeth on edge. "Don't fall too far behind now. I'll be checking on you and your friend soon. I do hope he doesn't die, what a tragedy that'd be" And with that He turned and left Valeriya, disappearing into the crowd.

Valeriya had to speed walk to catch up to Shizuo, her ankle starting to get the better of her though. Soon she fell behind again, but he was easy to keep track of. As she walked her eyes traveled down his back, to his butt, then down his long legs. Valeriya thought he was truly an attractive man, so tall and lean. His shaggy blonde hair framing his slender face, and something about his eyes caught her every time she looked at them. She shook her head. Now wasn't really the time to think about stuff like that, her best friend was in pain and here she was ogling this stranger. But still her mind wandered a bit as she followed.

After indulging her wandering mind for a moment, Valeriya was suddenly snapped back with the realization that her friend was hurt. She wished there was more she could do than just hope he would be okay. Would he ever be able to walk again? She pushed herself faster, catching up to Shizuo, and stealing a glance at him. Her eyes traveled down to Fitz, spying the twisted and mangled ankle as well as a bump on his head with drying blood smearing his forehead. Quickly wiping at the tears streaming down her face again, she turned away, hoping the blonde hadn't seen.

Shizuo suddenly spoke "Like I said, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm sure Shinra can fix him up." he said in a calm voice, seemingly trying to calm Valeriya. She was surprised at how calm of a voice he had for the man she had just witnessed.

"How do you know that?!" she said her voice sounding erratic, as it broke.

"Look, I'm just trying to comfort you!" He said his voice suddenly growing cold.

Valeriya stopped for a minute and thought, the anger on her face slowly fading. He was right. Even though this man had hurt Fitz, he was trying to redeem himself, and take them to a doctor. She caught back up with him, as he never stopped. The angry scowl had returned to his face.

"Look, I'm sorry." she said quietly, feeling a bit awkward. "I'm just worried about him is all." Valeriya felt a bit guilty that Fitz had been hurt trying to save her from being hit by the sign.

"No, it's alright. I always end up hurting people, I'm just a monster." he said, his voice sounding a bit sad.

She looked up, meeting his dark brown eyes. Even with all of the bad that was going on, she managed a small smile at him. "I don't think that, if you were, you wouldn't have helped us." She said trying to comfort him. He gave a single tiny nod in response. after he looked away, she let her eyes fall to the twisted face of her friend, the pained look gracing his features making her feel even more guilty.

As they continued on the path to Fitz's savior, the only noise between them was the clicking of Valeriyas heels on the concrete. She looked at all of the tall buildings around her and knew that she had never seen such large structures.

Finally, when they reached one of the tallest complexes, they entered through large glass double doors and found themselves inside a tiny elevator. The elevator music made Valeriya shift uncomfortably off her wounded ankle. She grimaced as she attempted to step out of the elevator when it came to a halt on the 32nd floor.

Valeriya followed Shizuo to one of the white doors. They stood there for a moment, before he made a gesture for her to knock on the door, because he had his hands full. She knocked on the wooden door, and took a step back. She heard a lock being undone and watched as the door crept open. Through the crack that had been made, a man poked his head out. The man smiled at Shizuo, but when his gaze fell, and landed on Fitz, his smile quickly faded. Opening the door all the way, he welcomed them in.

"Shizuo, did you kill someone?" the man asked, running a hand through his short black hair. "I don't do disposing." He said, Valeriya couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Shut up and fix this guy Shinra. I accidentally crushed his ankle with a street sign. Looks like he hit his head too." Shizuo said while pushing past the man in the lab coat and setting Fitz down on the couch.

"His name is Fitz" Shizuo gestured to an unconscious Fitz. "and his friend Valeriya, they are from out of town, and got caught in the cross fire of a little talk I was having with that worm Izaya."

Valeriya stared off, a chill running down her spine. Something didn't feel right to her, she knew automatically that there was danger present, laying within a being close by, but she couldn't tell what, or where.

"Valeriya?" Shizuo said her name while looking at her with a confused expression, "This is Shinra, the doctor I said could help your friend."

"Huh? Oh yes sorry. Its great to meet you, please, please help him sir." she took his outstretched hand in her shaky one, and gave it a flimsy shake.

"Listen, I'm going to do the best I can on him, you don't look to great, maybe you should get some air." Shinra dropped her hand and turned, examining Fitz before bringing up his medical kit. Valeriya felt a hand on her shoulder, and jumped, startled at the sudden touch. Turning, she met the gaze of the blonde once again.

"Come on, let's get that air, and let him see what he can do." He headed toward two glass doors, and upon sliding them opened, opened up to the two a gorgeous view of Ikebukuro from above. Valeriya stepped out onto the balcony behind him, and he shut the door behind her.

"Wow...this is beautiful." She said as she gazed out over the side, gripping firmly onto the railing.

"Is it? I've lived here so long I don't pay attention." He said while pulling out a cigarette and lighting it before offering one to Valeriya. She gratefully declined, and continued looking at him. then she remembered why she was here. Valeriya turned her head, peering into the glass doors, where Shinra was dabbing at the wound on Fitzs' head with a damp piece of cotton. Guilt washed over her again, this time engulfing her. He was like this, hurt, unconscious, because of her and her recklessness. Sighing for the third time tonight at her friend, she returned her gaze to the city, feeling another tear stream down her face.

"Lets get out of here and go for a walk; he needs you to be strong when he wakes up." Shizuo Said putting his hands in his pants pockets. He opened the door and paused, looking like he was thinking for a second, before he offered his arm to her, and she looped her arm through his graciously. After re-entering the house, they alerted Shinra that they were going for a walk to help clear Valeriya's mind, and that if Fitz woke, to call shizuos cell.

They left the building with Valeriya still holding onto Shizuo's arm. Her height paled in comparison to how tall he was. Her mere height of 5 feet, 6 inches was nothing compared to his own. By Valeriya's guess he had to be six foot if not more. She looked out into the dark street. Evening had descended onto Ikebukuro, and with the evening came a chilly wind. They walked down the once crowed street, all of the neon signs that had been bright before were now dim.

"So, you said you were from Italy, what're you doing here in Japan?" Shizuo asked, still looking ahead, the only light was the end of his cigarette.

"Well, I was born and Raised in Italy, well, I'm not sure you could call it 'raised'." the smile she had managed to cultivate was now lost as she cast her gaze to the ground.

He looked at her, concern gracing his dark eyed. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

"Well, I never had parents, they died when I was very young, and so I jumped from house to house, living with whoever would take me in. But I always hated pity, instead of groveling over how worthless I could have been, I sought to better myself, through the pursuit of knowledge. I had been a straight a student since first grade, so by the time I was ready to ship off to University, I sent my transcript into Cambridge University, and got accepted. I majored in Psychology, and minored in Anatomy, and Physiology/Pathophysiology." she responded. "I met Fitz when I was 16. He was living in England already. We became best friends, and when I moved From Italia to England, we got a small apartment together, and went to Cambridge together as well. He says he was a straight 'D' student but I never believed him. He's extremely smart. I suggested we take this vacation because it would be a great celebration of our graduation from university, and he needed to be cheered up after a terrible breakup." She concluded.

"Oh, wow, it sounds like you've had quite a time."

"You could say that." She said with a shrug. She knew everyone had problems, even if Fitz had come from a seemingly perfect family he was under a lot of pressure from his father all the time to be perfect. "So, are you from Ikebukuro?"

"Yeah, my brother and I were born and raised here. But while he rose to bigger and better places, I'm still here. Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of him." He said, his gaze never leaving the path in front of him. He took one last puff on his cigarette and threw it to the ground, stepping on it as they continued.

"So, are you really Ikebukuro's strongest man? You're name is always being said. That burst of strength… where did that come from, you seem so calm and collected right now." she asked, glancing up at him, hoping to navigate away from the clearly sensitive topic she had wandered into.

He let out a heavy sigh, and answered."Yeah, that's me. I have no idea how I became like this, my family was always normal, it's just whenever someone pisses me off, I just get like that, it mostly happens when I get around a guy named Izaya, he's bad news, stay away from him. I know I probably seem really awful, but I'm not always like that, I promise, I actually hate violence, just when I lose my temper..." He trailed off. He looked down at Valeriya, and her breath got caught in her chest.

"Just don't act as stupid as he does, and you'll be alright." He said, and they both resounded with giggles. Shizuo returned his eyes on the street, a smile gracing his full beautiful lips. "ya know, you're really pretty, and you seem really sweet." He said, stealing a quick glance at her.

"Wow, thank you, I think you're very handsome as well." Valeriya turned her head to look at him fully. But out from under the evening sky slipped the cover of night, masking them in darkness.

Valeriya clutched tighter to him, snuggling her face into his bicep as a biting night wind blew her long black hair behind her. Looking down at the shivering woman, he shed his black vest and handed it to her.

"Here, it'll keep you at least a little warmer." She shrugged it on, not surprised at how warm it was, but at the tingling sense it gave her. Closing her eyes, and then opening them to look at him, she smiled a tender smile.

"Thank you." Once again, she laced her arm with the one offered to her.

"I think we should be getting back now, it'll only get colder, and your friend Fitz might be awake soon."

"I agree." she said sleepily as she snuggled into his arm once again and they started back towards Shinras apartment.

**AN: so here we are at the end of chapter two, thanks for reading this far! So, do you think that Fitz will be ok? What does everybody think of him and Val? I apologize that Shizuo is so ooc, I tried I really did! D: anyways, chapter three is in the making and will be up really really soon! I hope that you'll stick around to read it with us! Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed! Thanks, and thanks again!**

**-Miss Echo**


	3. being carried is fun

**AN: Hi everyone, and welcome back! Here's the third installment of this series, and sadly, once again, I do not own Durarara! Or any of it's characters, etc. thanks once again to my beta reader, who not only helped write this story, but also gave me his explicit permission to use Fitz in this story and all others. I apologize that this chapter is so short in comparison to the others, it's late (Well, early I guess) here and I'm so tired! - time for miss echo to go to bed! Alright, I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to let me know if you like it or not, thanks, and thanks again!**

**-Miss Echo**

When they entered through Shinras door again, the wave of supernatural energy flooded her senses again, and she was sent swaying as dizziness overcame her. As Shizuo got her seated on a love seat nearby, he went to go get Shinra.

But to Valeriya's surprise, when Shizuo and Shinra entered, they weren't alone. Behind them followed a woman in a tight black leather jumpsuit. On her head, she wore a large blue and yellow helmet. From the moment the woman entered Valeriya's senses sky rocketed.

"Valeriya ,this is my girlfriend, Celty." Shinra said, a childish grin on his face.

Instead of talking, the woman pulled out a PDA, and typed on it rapidly. After finishing her sentence, she held it up for Valeriya to read. But instead of reading it, Valeriya rose from the love seat, and circled the woman in leather, wondering who she really was, ignoring the PDA all together.

Valeriya slowly reached out, lifting the large helmet from the wearers head, to find that there was none. The woman's neck just seemed to end, with nothing but a black mist billowing out the top of it.

The headless woman flailed at being exposed and grabbed her helmet from Valeriyas hands and jammed it back on her shoulders

"So that's what I was sensing!"

"Valeriya what...what are you talking about?" Shizuo inquired, completely befuddled.

No one took note of a waking Fitz on the couch. his eyes began to flutter open, as he began to look around, at the strange people, his eyes fell to the bartender that had thrown the sign at Valeriya. He was about to scramble away, when he heard Valeriyas voice.

"You see, I felt off when we got here, and I knew it wasn't just because Fitz was hurt, I thought I felt some kind of dangerous entity" she smiled at the crowd staring at her in awe. Celty removed her helmet now not seeing a reason to keep it on. "And you see, I know this woman is a-"

Fitz's eyes widened a little at the sight that met his eyes. He had to be still dreaming. The woman in the jumpsuit had no head, but she has a steady stream of smoke...well it looked like smoke to Fitz, rising from her neck.

"A Dulahan." Fitz said suddenly gaining everyone's stare. "A being representing a grim reaper in Ireland."

"DOES EVERYONE KNOW WHAT CELTY IS?!" Shinra shouted, amazed that so many people knew.

"I'm Scottish, so I'm familiar with the legends of that area. My grandmother was actually from northern Ireland. She'd tell me stories of the Dulahan. I just never thought I'd see one in real life...and in Japan." He paused looking around at the faces. The man in the lab coat was the only one he didn't recognize. well the Dulahan too, but she didn't have a face. He wanted to stand and examine her right then, but when he tried, his ankle protested, sending shooting pains up his leg and through his body.

"Fitz, no, stay there!" Valeriya rushed to him, and kneeled down to his side, gently hugging him. Fitz winced as the hug brought more pain than comfort, but hugged back anyway. "Oh Fitz, I thought I lost you! Don't ever do something reckless like that ever again, you hear me idiota?" she commanded, reverting the insult back to her native tongue. She backed out of the Hug, wiping away her tears.

"'Fitz, this is Shinra, and Celty, they cleaned you up, and pieced you back together. and this," she waved towards Shizuo."is Shizuo Heiwajima."

"Yeah, kid, I'm sorry about this. If there's anything I can do, just let me know."

"Thank you, it's much appreciated, and your apology is formally accepted." He said, still slightly standoffishly.

"Good, how about I carry you, and escort Valeriya back to wherever you're staying." Shizuo offered.

"Sure, that sounds great." Valeriya quickly accepted, wanting to soak up all the time she could with this handsome man.

"Where are you guys staying?" Celty typed on her PDA.

Valeriya read it and answered. "A little motel down by the west gate."

"Really?! that place is pretty bad right now, there's been at least 3 murders and 4 muggings down there in the past 3 weeks!" Shinra exclaimed.

After this little outburst things fell silent, then, through the silence, Fitz broke the silence his voice low. "It was cheap." He said looking down at the floor. It had been his idea to stay there. He didn't think it'd be worth it to spend too much money on a hotel room.

Celty turned her body to Shinra for a moment; they exchanged a look...well as best they could, before Celty pulled her PDA out and typed on it, and held it out to Shinra.

"Well I guess we can, if you want Celty," He said to her, looking unsure. Celty typed something more on the PDA and held it to him. The doctor just nodded. "Why don't you guys stay here? It's a lot safer here." He smiled at them."But, there's only one couch..." Shinra trailed off, "If you don't mind sleeping in the chair-"

Before Valeriya or Fitz could say more a deep voice cut in. Valeriya and Fitz both turned to look at Shizuo.

"You could come stay with me Valeriya." Valeriya looked at him, taken aback.

"Wait a minute Valeriya, we don't even know this man, and he could be a murderer for all you know." Fitz protested. The look on his face told it all. He had a deep distrust for this man, and didn't want to separate himself from Valeriya to let her be alone with this stranger. "Maybe it's not best to be with a guy who throws things like vending machines and road signs at people." He said, then looking to Shizuo, who was now frowning at him. "No offense."

"You're pissing me off kid. I'm trying to be really nice here, and you're making it really fucking hard." Shizuo growled.

"I'll be alright Fitz, I trust him." She turned to Shizuo and smiled.

"We better get going, it's a long walk." Shizuo said, turning towards the door.

"Okay Fitz, rest up, I'll be back tomorrow with your clothes and stuff, feel better, I love you mio fratello." She said hugging him, before getting up and following Shizuo to the street.

Valeriya clutched his arm, the way she had earlier, and felt the shooting pain in her ankle once more.

Gradually, she began to slow down, to the point of a crawl.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked her, genuinely concerned.

She looked up taken aback by the concern."It's just my ankle; I twisted it during that fall I took when Fitz saved me. Its no big deal." she said, attempting to walk on it again. One step was enough to make her yelp, and nearly fall to the ground. And fall to the ground she would have if he had not been there to catch her before she hit the pavement.

"Hey, you're going to hurt yourself. Here." Before Valeriya could do anything he lifted her into his arms bridal style. She snuggled her face into his chest, inhaling his sweet scent, it was that of cologne, cigarette smoke, and something resembling pine. She moved her hand to tightly grip the fabric of his white shirt in fear of falling. Her eyelids batted a few times, before she surrendered into closing them, and hearing his sweet chuckle before succumbing to sleep.

**AN: wow, I didn't think I would be getting into the relationship/fluff kinda stuff this early - oh well, that's what it's all about right? I know that Shizuo is really OOC and for that I apologize, I tried, really, I did! At least we got to see more of Fitz and Celty finally made a grand entrance! Hooray! Anyways, how do you think this situation will play out for the two vacationers? Good? Bad? Or otherwise? Well, you'll just have to read on to find out! The next chapter will be up soon, I promise! Hope you enjoyed this installment and I hope you'll join us for the next! Thanks, and thanks again! **

**-Miss Echo**


	4. i would have taken the couch

**AN: hi again! thanks for joining us once again! we're back to our normal length chapters, so I apologize if it's a bit long. As usual, I don't own Durarara! Or anything related to it etc. thanks to my beta reader, and I know the characters are OOC. In this chapter, we get to see the first interaction between Fitz and Izaya! Yay! The next chapter will have a lot more Fitz and Izaya in it, I promise! But for now, let's get on with this chapter, enjoy!**

**-Miss Echo**

Shizuo closed the door to his shabby apartment, and set her down on his couch, grabbing her shoulder, and gently shaking her awake.

"Huh...where...?" She tried to rub the sleep from her eyes as she looked around.

"We're here. It's not a castle, but it works." he said, going into his room and opening a drawer.

"You have nothing to wear to sleep in, here." He thrust a pair of men's pajama pants, and a short sleeved shirt from some kind of academy in front of her.

"Oh... thank you...very much..." She slowly took them from him.

She was startled when he picked her up again, and walked her to the bathroom.

"You can change in here, just holler when you're done, and I'll carry you to the bedroom. If you want, you can just leave your clothes and shoes in there, that way, you know where they are."

"Okay, thanks Shizuo."

"It's the least I could do." He said as he set her down gently on the cold tile floor. She gasped at the sudden pressure on her ankle, but straightened when both her feet were on the ground.

"Alright, take your time." he said, closing the door behind him.

She started by taking off ridiculously tall heels she had worn that day, and continued by stripping herself down to her bra and underwear, replacing the previous outfit with a comfortable and loose pair of Shizuo's clothes.

"Okay, ready." She yelled, leaning on the sink for support when he cautiously entered. He picked her up and laid her down into his bed, and covered her up with the blankets and comforter.

"Goodnight, he whispered to her, and after receiving a muffled Goodnight Valeriya who had already rolled over onto her side, and been embraced by sweet sleep, clicked off the light, and closed the door.

Shizuo changed into his own pajamas and headed for the tattered couch to get some sleep.

Fitz stared as the door closed. She'd left him he couldn't believe it. She'd just run off with the very guy that had hurt him, with just a shrug. What was she? Stupid? Fitz flopped back on the couch and the headless figure moved closer. Fitz heard some typing, when he opened his eye a crack, the PDA had been shoved in his face.

Fitz's eyes quickly scanned over the screen "What is it? Are you hurt? Do you need something for the pain?"

"N-no. Sorry I'm fine...it's just...we don't know any of you, and she just goes traipsing off with the guy that nearly hit her with a road sign." He said looking up to where a head would be. "I mean no offense but you're a grim reaper, the bartender throws heavy things, and has a bad temper, and the doctor looks like a mad scientist. I mean thank you for helping us, but...we should have never come here. This whole trip...just...ugh." Fitz closed his eyes once more.

There was more typing, but he didn't open his eyes until he felt a poking at his forehead. Fitz opened his eyes once more to read the screen; he noticed that the doctor had moved to lean over the couch so he could read what Celty was typing too.

"None taken, all things considered, I'm surprised you didn't run away when you saw me. I'm not really so bad, and your friend should be okay, Shizuo seems to like her, so I don't think he'll hurt her, he's a good guy too, just with a short temper. And Shinra...He may be crazy sometimes, but he wouldn't hurt a fly."

The doctor cut in. "No, but I might dissect it and put it back before it woke up." He said laughing evilly.

Celty reached over and punched his shoulder before typing quickly "Ignore him, he's being a pain."

"What a cruel thing to say Celty. I-" He began hurt sounding, but a knock at the door cut him off. He stood and left the room.

For a second Fitz didn't say anything, then he looked up at the headless figure. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Okay"

"What is a Dulahan doing in Japan anyway? It just seems really far from the UK."

Celty didn't type for a moment, before she finally started and turned the PDA so Fitz could read the short response. "I'm looking for something."

Before Fitz could ask what, Shinra walked back in the room with someone.

"Well I just wanted to check on something, he doesn't often care this much about people that he hurts." The man said. Fitz was instantly mistrustful of that voice. He craned his neck to see the guy with black hair that had been fighting with the bartender entering the spacious living room.

"Isn't it weird for you to care too?" Shinra asked.

The man just shrugged. "Maybe, I'm just curious, although it's probably nothing." He said.

The man sat down on the arm rest by Fitz's feet looking at him. Fitz didn't like the look he was getting. Even if there was a smile on his face, he could tell the man was studying him. "Well you don't look like much." He said finally.

"I'm sorry." Fitz said coldly. "But who are you"

"Ah, my name is Izaya Orihara. You saw me today in that little disagreement with Shizu-chan." He looked around. "Where's your friend, Valeriya? The one you got hurt saving." He said in a tone that Fitz didn't like, it sounded like he already knew the answer, but just wanted to hear Fitz say it.

"Not here, but I'm guessing you might have known that." Fitz said his tone unchanging.

"How could I possibly know that Fitzgerald?" He asked smiling.

"I'd guess the same way you know my name, or maybe you're just a stalker." Fitz's contempt for this man didn't get any better looking at his smiling face. Fitz hated feeling like someone knew something more than him.

"Hmm, maybe I was right about you. You might just be fun." He said standing. "I think I'll be keeping an eye on you Mister Deveraux." He said walking away. He paused by Shinra, "That's all I wanted to see."

"Uh, Okay." The doctor said following Izaya from the room. "You know his friend said she-" His voice trailed too far for Fitz to hear clearly.

Celty put her PDA in his face. "Be careful with him." She warned.

"I don't plan on seeing him again." Fitz said settling back in the couch.

"Good. Now you should listen to what your friend said and get some rest, I'll bring you a blanket."

Fitz was asleep before she could return with the blanket, so she covered him in his sleep, and went to bed herself.

When the morning sun shone through the curtains, Valeriyas eyes fluttered open. The scent of coffee and bacon filled the apartment. Lifting herself up and out of Shizuo's bed she looked around before hobbling to the kitchen to find him. She leaned on the wall as she watched him cooking the delicious food she had smelled earlier. He stood there, in his plain blue pajama pants, and no shirt, one hand on a pan, the other placed on his hip. When he heard the creak of the floorboard, he craned his head over his shoulder to look at her, before looking back to the food so as to not burn it.

"Morning." he said, then after a pause, he glanced to her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you, but I would have gladly taken the couch."

"No it was fine." he said before letting go of the pan, walking to her, picking her up and carrying her to the rickety table.

"You don't have to do that Shizuo, really, I don't want to be a burden." she said as she watched him pour a cup of coffee, and sat it down in front of her.

"You are, I just don't want you to hurt yourself." He said, his gruff tone ebbing for a moment.

She wanted to leap across the table and hug him for how kind he'd been to her, but she was afraid it may fall apart if she did. Taking the bacon from the pan and putting it on a plate, he brought his own coffee, and sat down across from her.

She couldn't help but let her eyes wander to his beautiful chest. He was lean, and well built. and she admired that.

After a mostly silent breakfast, Shizuo discarded the mornings newspaper, Valeriya flashed him a small smile, silently thanking him for breakfast. He stood and stretched.

"We should get dressed, and go to your motel. We've gotta take stuff back to Fitz, right?" he asked, his voice ebbing at annoyance.

Valeriya looked up for a moment not knowing how to react to the annoyed tone. "Well, yes, I suppose we do." With that, she smiled again, and rose from her rickety wooden chair. He watched as she balanced herself, and hobbled away from the table slowly. Her ankle had begun to heal quickly. Even though she was still slower than normal, it wasn't too bad, just a twist, but she'd have to move slower for a few days. She made her way to the bathroom, and closed the door. Valeriya realized she only had the clothes she wore the day before. With a sigh she figured she'd have to wear that at least until she got the hotel and she could change. Valeriya dressed as quickly as she could. She had to lean against the sink to pull her skinny jeans up. She slid four silver bangles onto her wrist, the metal clinking as she slid them on, and a silver heart pendant on a dainty chain around her neck. This was one of Valeriyas favorite pieces of jewelry, it had been a present from Fitz the first Christmas they shared together in England, it was special to her, and she prized it. Lastly were her shoes. Valeriya dreaded them, with her ankle still hurting she wondered if it was even a good idea to wear them, but she had to since they were all she had. Taking a deep breath she leaned back on the counter once more and slipped each shoe on carefully. Valeriya glanced at herself in the mirror running her fingers through her long midnight black hair. Her eyes drifted down her neck to the pendant. She couldn't help but think of Fitz when she looked at it. She really hoped he was better.

Valeriya quickly exited the bathroom, looking around for Shizuo. She soon found him tying his bow tie in front of a long mirror, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Noticing her there and turning, he asked, "You ready to go then?"

Valeriya and Shizuo exited the apartment and walked to the train. Valeriya was relieved she wasn't going to have to walk all the way to the hotel. She was able to sit down, while Shizuo stood. Turning her back to him, she looked out the window at the city as it passed by.

After a while the buildings started to look slightly familiar. The train stopped and the pair got off, just as people were rushing on. The walk wasn't long, but it hurt, though Valeriya did her best to hide how much her foot was hurting her. It wasn't hard, all she had to do was think about Fitz, she was whining over a little twist, and he'd had something fall on his ankle.

Finally, they made it to the run down motel, Valeriya lead the way to the room she and Fitz shared.

"Hey girlie." A voice called out as she led the way to the room. "Come here, there's something I wanna show you." The voice said. It was a voice that had promises of bad things dripping from every word.

"No, thank you." She said turning the corner quickly, but not quickly enough it seemed. A hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder.

"Come on. It won't hurt." The man's voice said closely to her ear. "Too much anyway" He added laughing.

Before Valeriya could yell for help Shizuo walked around the corner. He grabbed the man's shoulder. "Hey, why don't you pick on someone you're own size?" He said in his deep voice.

"Fuck off man." The creeper said harshly, "It ain't none of your business."

"You're messing with a friend of mine, which makes it my business." He said squeezing the man's shoulder.

Then man shrugged the hand off with some effort, and spun around. "I said fuck off man." He said while pulling out a small pocket knife and clicking open. The fire in the man's eyes died down quickly as he saw the six foot blonde man, with a scowl looking down at him.

"You pulled a knife on me." Shizuo asked, his voice getting harsher.

"H-hey man it was a mistake, I didn't mean anything by it." The creep said dropping the knife.

"You pulled a knife on me? Did you have a plan?"

"N-no." The creep said backing away. Valeriya had pressed herself up against the wall when he let her go. "I was just trying..." He trailed off having no excuse.

Valeriya couldn't help but stir the pot. "Don't worry it wont hurt...much anyway." She said with a wicked smile.

"You are scum, I really shouldn't even waste my time with you." Shizuo said in the same tone.

"You're right, I'm scum. A complete waste of time." The man said trying to get out of a beating.

"But I'm going to, because I'm mad. Someone I'd rather beat around is not around, so I'll just picture you're him, as I throw you around." The creeper, that had who knows what planned for Valeriya let out a feeble whimper as a wet spot grew on his pants. "Valeriya go to the room, I'll meet you there in a minute."

Valeriya nodded and walked down the hall to the room door. She paused looking back before opening it, and entering. As soon as she was inside there was a scream and a sudden commotion.

**AN: wow that was a close call for Val! Good thing Shizuo was there to save her! I know that there wasn't a lot of Fitz in this chapter, but there will be next time, pinkie promise! I hope that you'll join us for it! The next chapter will be out very, very soon! I hope to see you all there! Hope you enjoyed, don't forget to tell me what you think! Thanks, and thanks again!**

**-Miss Echo**


	5. turn for the worst

**AN: welcome! I'm glad you're here, thanks for taking a look! Just as I promised, this chapter is very Fitz centric, and his interactions with Izaya. There is some Val in it of course, but she's everywhere! Anyways, I don't own Durarara! And such, so, remember to talk to me and leave me reviews, hope you enjoy! Thanks, and thanks again!**

**-Miss Echo**

Valeriya tried to ignore the sounds as she walked around gathering up her clothes. She had them all over the place; she crammed them in her bag. Luckily it was still able to zip. She grabbed it, and moved to grab Fitz's. Fitz had everything neatly folded in his bag, so she didn't have to track anything down. As she reached for it a hand intercepted it, and grasped the handle. She looked up to see Shizuo had joined her.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, surprised.

"I'll carry this one for you; you wouldn't be able to lift them both." He said picking the bag up.

When they walked out of the room Valeriya was surprised to see that the hallway wasn't really disturbed by whatever Shizuo had done. However, when they rounded the corner, she could see the creeper's head had been rammed through the front of a vending machine. Groaning let Valeriya know he was still alive. They walked past him, and into the office. Valeriya set her key on the desk.

"Hey there's a guy with his head in the soda machine." Shizuo said to the confused clerk as they left the office.

Upon arriving at Shinra's doorstep, they rang the doorbell, and waited for a response.

"Well hi there Shizuo, Valeriya!" Shinra said pleasantly as he gestured for them to come in.

"Yo." Shizuo responded. A small hello could be heard from Valeriya as they entered.

Valeriya set down her suitcase, and ran to Fitz, gathering him up into a big hug. "Fitz! How are you feeling today? Any better? I've been worrying about you all morning! We brought your things." She carefully untangled herself from him, and stood back, smiling at him.

"Good morning Valeriya, thanks for bringing my clothes. Yeah I'm doing a little better; although it still hurts a bit." He told her, glancing own at his wrapped ankle.

"I bet. Did Shinra tell you when he thinks it'll heal up completely?" she asked, the words getting faster, and slurred by her accent.

"Well, it's not broken so I guess in a few days? Maybe a week?" He asked glancing up at Shinra.

"Well as long as you don't overexert yourself, yeah a few days would be possible." Shinra said shrugging the looking back to Shizuo to continue their conversation.

"Well, no marathons for you speedy." She chuckled.

"Darn." He said with a straight face, before they both broke out giggling.

Shizuo walked over and set the suitcase on the floor next to Fitz.

"Oh...you brought my whole suitcase...just an outfit would have worked, you didn't need to drag my suitcase all over town." He said looking to Valeriya then glancing at Shizuo, "Thanks though."

"Well I checked us out. So I couldn't just leave your stuff there." Valeriya said simply.

"You what?!" Fitz asked suddenly. Causing Shinra and Shizuo to look up. Shinra walked into the office with the glass sliding door, and Shizuo grunted and pulled a cigarette out and walked onto the deck.

"Well...I checked us out." Valeriya said confused at the outburst.

"Valeriya where are we going to stay? Our flight home is days away! and they charge you to change it. I don't know about you, but I'm not really in the fortune 500 here." Fitz said struggling to keep his voice even.

"Well Shinra and Celty said there had been a lot of crimes there, and I was nearly drug away when I went to get our stuff. We can still stay, I think Shizuo would let me stay with him, he seems nice, and it'd only be for a few more days."

Fitz just stared at Valeriya. There was no way someone as smart as her could act this dumb on purpose. There was so much wrong with what she'd just said. "And what about me? I can't just stay here, I hardly know these people I don't want to just suddenly invite myself to stay, hell I didn't even want to stay last night but I had little choice." As Fitz finished his cell phone rang. He dig for his phone, but was too slow the call went to voicemail.

"Who was that?" Valeriya asked.

"My father." He said dismissively, "I'll call him back, look Valeriya, we have to figure something out. Something that doesn't get us-"

Valeriya knew where Fitz was going. He was going to say 'get us involved with strangers' She stood, "Look I'll ask Shizuo if we can both stay there, and you can call your dad back while I'm asking, then we'll be set." Before Fitz could naysay that plan she walked away.

Fitz was once again stunned. Sighing angrily, he unlocked his phone. He spotted that his dad had left him a voice mail. Figuring if he listened he'd listen to that maybe he wouldn't have to call him back. On the other end, his father's distinct voice began. "Fitzgerald Deveraux, this is your father. You're 'friend' Ben has just contacted me. He has told me about you. Fitzgerald this is unacceptable, you have smudged our family name. How could you be so low as to be one of 'those' people? This is terrible, what would your mother say? I'm beside myself." There was a long pause in which Fitz could still hear his father's harsh breathing. "I have no son." His father finished finally and then the click of the line going dead.

Fitz starred at the floor stunned, until another voice was heard. "End of messages, if you would like to-" He dropped the phone in his lap. His mind went into repression, and he pulled his knees up to his chest, laying his head down, and sobbing quietly to himself.

Fitz heard the squeak of the glass door to the terrace open, and a giggling Valeriya step through it.

Valeriya entered the living room, and Shizuo shut the door behind her, preferring to stay outside to finish his cigarette.

"I talked to him, he said-" her words fell short as she spotted Fitz, "Are you awake?" She asked walking closer thinking he'd just fallen asleep. It wasn't until she heard a small stifled sob, that she realized something was wrong.

"Fitz, mio fratello, what is wrong?!" she asked worriedly, hugging him

"I-it's my father..." Fitz said through broken sobs.

"What? What happened fratello, breathe, and tell me what happened. What's wrong did something happen to your dad?." she leaned back, unwrapping her arms from around him. One hand made its way to his back, and started rubbing in a circular pattern, trying to soothe his irregular breathing.

"He said, that Ben called him, and told him that I had dated him, and that I wasn't interested in women, and that...that... he said he doesn't have a son. I can't believe this would happen, why would Ben do that, I never did anything to him! This is the worst thing that could ever happen, and you weren't even here...you weren't here for me..." He sobbed into his knees again.

"Oh Fitz...I'm so sorry, that's terrible! I'm here for you now, I'm here okay?" she asked, as she rubbed his back.

Shizuo stood behind the glass, looking in at the sight. He watched as Valeriya tried to comfort her friend, but wasn't sure if it was working or not.

"Here, why don't you just lie down, and breathe, that'll take your mind off things, just relax..." She said in a soothing voice, as she rose from the couch, and helped him flatten onto the couch. "There, that's better, isn't it?" she asked in a hushed tone, trying to keep him relaxed. Valeriya felt a slight rumble in her stomach, she was getting hungry, the breakfast she'd had hadn't held her long. She glanced to Shizuo on the other side of the glass 'I really want to go with Shizuo, but I know I really should stay here with Fitz, he needs me...oh, what do I do?' she thought to herself. Finally, she came to the conclusion that she would never be able to make up her mind, so she'd ask Fitz instead.

"Fitz, I know you're hurting, do you need me here? If I go with Shizuo now, will you be okay? I'm completely fine with staying if that's what you need, but I also know that you like to be alone when you're upset." She said, silently hoping he'd say she could go, but at the same time feeling bad about wishing that.

He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling with a deadpan expression, taking a few minutes to contemplate an answer. finally, he retaliated with an acerbic "No."

She studied his blank face for a moment longer, a frown gracing her face. Picking up her suitcase, she turned, and began walking towards the door, the ground suddenly becoming very interesting. The tall blonde trailed after her, stopping close behind her as she stood in the doorway, her gaze still on the floor.

"Call me if you need anything, okay? Ti amero siempre mio fratello." her voice was just above a whisper, but Fitz heard her, even if he made no move to respond.

After they exited the building, and the clicking of her heels was heard on the Ikebukuro street, Shizuo could tell she was upset, she hadn't taken his arm like she usually did.

He sighed deeply. "Alright, stop." they both stopped walking, and he stepped in front of her, taking the heavy suitcase from her hand. Stepping back in place beside her, he offered her his arm, and she slowly took it. She kept her eyes trained on the side walk, and the frown never faded from her lips.

Shizuo wasn't sure why, but he felt like he needed to do something for this woman, something to make her happy again. It stumped him, why did he want to see her happy again, and stop her suffering so badly. The sound of a familiar voice calling out for people to come and try his sushi reached his ears.

"Hey, I'm getting hungry. You like sushi?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Yeah, I love sushi, why do you ask?"

"There's a sushi shop up ahead, I thought we could stop in and get some food instead of cooking later." he explained.

"Oh, yeah, sounds great." she said, her voice beginning to pick up a little more.

"Good." he said as they turned into Russia Sushi, and sat down at a table. He set the large leather case by his feet under the table. Soon, a waiter came to take their order, and bring them some sushi.

He managed to make her giggle, and realized that he was doing well on his goal of cheering her up.

He took in all of her features, she really was very pretty, he thought, her long raven hair, and red full lips. Her long defined lashes helped frame her large brown doe eyes. Shizuo had to admit she was nice to look at.

Valeriya had to keep telling herself that this was not a date, it was just them stopping for a bite to eat. But still, she couldn't help but let her mind pretend it was.

Later, the two let themselves laugh, and talk. Shizuo felt like the world was gone from around him, there weren't many people that made him laugh, that weren't afraid to be near him, or even be daring enough to touch him.

She gently laid her hand on top of his, and looked him in the eye, speaking softly. "This is really kind of you, thank you for letting to let Fitz and I stay with you."

"It's no problem." He said. He starred down at her hand, soaking in the image of her long slender fingers, and finely chiseled nails, carefully painted in her favorite French tips. Touch wasn't something Shizuo received often, so he wasn't sure what to make of the small warm hand draped over his larger calloused one.

**AN: poor Fitz! Do you think Izaya had anything to do with Ben telling Fitzs father about them dating? Hard to tell! Again, the next chapter will be very Fitz focused as well as observing his interactions with the informant. I know that things move very rapidly in this story, and I apologize for that, but I can't help myself! XD anyways, thanks for sticking around this long, and I hope that you'll stick with us through the next chapter which will be posted very very soon! But for now, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Thanks, and thanks again! **

**-Miss Echo**


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